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Illinois Football: Merlin Robertson would be centerpiece to Illini defense

By Rees Woodcock

CHICAGO, IL - JULY 23: Head coach Lovie Smith of the University of Illinois football team looks on before the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on July 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 5-3. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JULY 23: Head coach Lovie Smith of the University of Illinois football team looks on before the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on July 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 5-3. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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The Illinois football team has a talented class of 2018 signed up right now.

But, to complete this class, the Illini are going to have to snag a few more talented players. Merlin Robertson is one of the players who would complete this class. He would be a difference maker for the coaching staff and team.

Robertson took his official visit to Champaign this past weekend. This was a surprise visit for most people – including myself – because he was originally pegged for an official visit on January 12 to Illinois but switched that to Arizona State.

The fact he still wanted to take a visit to see the Illini has to be great news. That means the pitch by the Sun Devils wasn’t good enough to land Robertson that day. Illinois had a chance to roll out the red carpet for this kid and having a big-time former NFL linebacker like Hardy Nickerson as the defensive coordinator helped immensely.

Just looking at where Robertson has visited, I assume he is down to three programs. Illinois is in the hunt with Arizona State and Oklahoma for the commitment of this talented linebacker. If the Illini could pull him in, the class of 2018 would get a huge boost because of the type of talent he brings to the table.

Robertson is a 6-foot-3, 241-pound outside linebacker from Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 129 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 8 outside linebacker in the nation.

I cannot express to you how much Robertson would mean to the Illinois football team. The depth chart is a little thin right now – especially at linebacker – so the addition of Robertson would make a huge impact.

Heading into the 2018 season, as of right now, I have Jake Hansen and Del’Shawn Phillips as the two outside linebackers for the Illini with the middle linebacker being Dele Harding. I really like these three as the first string, but adding a player like Robertson would give the Illini so much depth.

I would likely move Hansen to the backup role so Robertson could start day one for the Illini. This would give Illinois Phillips who started just about every game last season and is a senior. They would have Harding who started five games last season and is a junior. And then they would add in Robertson who is a top 150 player in the class of 2018 and is one of the best linebackers in the nation. This would be the best linebacker core the Illini have had in years.

Illinois would then have more strength behind the starters as well. James Knight continued to improve in 2017 and even had a start at linebacker under his belt. Hansen would have started last season but an injury hampered those chances. He is a starting quality linebacker as a backup. I also like what Marc Mondesir, Ayo Shogbonyo and Jimmy Marchese bring to the table at linebacker as well.

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Robertson wouldn’t just bring an extremely talented linebacker to Champaign. He would help build the middle of this defense into a solid unit who would cause serious damage in the Big Ten. I would be extremely impressed if Lovie and Nickerson landed Robertson. He would be the centerpiece of The Movement that is happening in Champaign.

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